£100 Billion Sick Note Culture

Dame Carol Black the National Director for Health & Work who advises the Government has called for a radical new approach to work related ill health. Apparently it is costing £100 billion a year which is enough to run the entire National Health Service.

At present the sick note system is really aimed at what people cannot do rather than what they can do. Doctors sometimes say simply “off sick” which does not help employers.

The recommendation is that doctor’s sick notes be replaced by electronic fit notes these would set out what the ill person could still do. This may be much more useful to bosses and employees by reducing the time away from work.

Dame Carol’s report “Working for a Healthier Tomorrow” also suggests that issues regarding sickness should be tackled at an early stage  as the human costs for people are enormous as work is a key factor for employees self-esteem.

If the issues are not tackled at an early stage it can result in long term sickness or even life on benefits. For employers this means risking a claim for unfair dismissal, disability discrimination or breach of contract if the employee is dismissed.

The statistics are that currently approximately 7 % of the working population were on incapacity benefits and an additional 3% are off work, this makes a total of 10% of the workforce.

She says that many employers could be help employee to return to work if they made sensitive contact during sickness absences.

So how do businesses deal with this?

Employers are often wary of dealing with individuals who have been off sick for a prolonged period, especially where the cause of their sickness is not clear or they are awaiting diagnosis. All too often the reality today is a quickly scribbled note signing someone off for another period of weeks with a very little information or vague prognosis.

“Employers should establish the reason for absence so as to rule out or deal with any work-related cause or trigger. It should be considered whether an individual is likely to return to work in the foreseeable future” says Verity Slater of the Employment Team at Follett Stock Solicitors. “My advice to employers is that they should keep in regular contact with the employee, obtain some medical evidence enabling them to consult with the employee and consider reasonable adjustments or alternative employment”

Operating a fair procedure prior to dismissing an employee on longer-term absences can be onerous but is necessary. Failure to do this can result in expensive claims for employers.